“Banksy is no stranger to making headlines and this latest chapter in his story has captured imaginations across the world - we can only begin to guess what might come next.”īanksy, who has never confirmed his full identity, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists. “It has been a whirlwind to follow the journey of this now legendary piece and to have it back in our midst, offering it tonight in the very room it was created by the artist,” Branczik said. Sotheby’s chairman of modern and contemporary art, called the shredding “one of the most ingenious moments of performance art this century.” There were jitters among Sotheby’s staff to the last that Banksy had another surprise planned.Īlex Branczik. The work quickly became one of Banksy’s most famous, and Sotheby’s sent it on tour to cities including New York and Hong Kong before Thursday’s auction.Īuctioneer Oliver Barker joked that he was “terrified” to bring down the hammer to end Thursday’s sale. But the 2018 buyer decided to go through with the purchase, a decision that was vindicated on Thursday as the work’s price soared. Sotheby’s received some criticism at the time for failing to spot the hidden shredder. When it last sold at Sotheby’s in October 2018, the piece was known as “Girl With Balloon.” Just as an anonymous female European buyer made the winning bid - for 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) - a hidden shredder embedded in the frame by Banksy whirred to life, leaving half the canvas hanging from the frame in strips. The piece consists of a half-shredded canvas in an ornate frame bearing a spray-painted image of a girl reaching for a heart-shaped red balloon. The sale price of 18,582,000 pounds ($25,383,941) includes an auction-house fee known as a buyer’s premium. “Love is in the Bin” was offered by Sotheby’s in London, with a presale estimate of 4 million pounds to 6 million pounds ($5.5 million to $8.2 million).Īfter a 10-minute bidding war involving nine bidders in the saleroom, online and by phone, it sold for three times the high estimate to an undisclosed buyer. LONDON (AP) - A work by British street artist Banksy that sensationally self-shredded just after it sold at auction three years ago fetched almost 18.6 million pounds ($25.4 million) on Thursday - a record for the artist, and close to 20 times its pre-shredded price.
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